Dark Creation

	; Get away from me, you GLITCH!
	"Dark Creation"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	February 1990
Cover date	April 1990
Writer	Simon Furman
Artist	Geoff Senior
Colorist	Nel Yomtov
Letterer	Jim Massara
Editor	Don Daley
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

In space, no one can hear you transform.

Synopsis

And so, the true history of the Matrix after it left Earth in Optimus Prime's body unfolds. Crash landing on the barren moon VsQs, the Matrix lies inactive until a droid crashes nearby as well, on the edge of death. Revitalized, the mechanoid who once brought death only to the terminally ill becomes willing and able to take all life in its path. The Matrix maintains a psychic link with the Deathbringer after it departs, and experiences new sensations through the being, such as pain, terror, and evil. It becomes... curious.

Next, a small predatory creature crawls into Prime's dead chest and is exposed to the Matrix's power. Recognizing the creature as a predator that kills victims which are neither food nor enemy, the Matrix becomes fascinated by the nature of evil. To experiment with more sensations, it recreates the creature into a larger and more deadly form, something that curious scientists from Cameron Space Control learn to their eternal lament.

Cut to the present. The Classic Pretenders are exploring what remains of the VsQs exploration habitat. As Bumblebee uncovers the survey logs, which end abruptly after the first encounter with Optimus Prime's funeral barge and the Matrixspawn, Grimlock returns from exploring the ruins. He's found the research team... what's left of them. While the Autobots are pondering their options, Thunderwing suddenly crashes through the window, demanding they hand over the Matrix to him.

Back at Thunderwing's ship, Ruckus is monologuing to himself about how unfair it is that he's stuck on guard duty. He contends (to himself, still) that being backhanded across the room by Thunderwing should've been punishment enough. Little does he realize that his impact shook loose a circuit, sending an electrical surge through the Mind Leech technology holding the Headmaster prisoners in stasis.

"What about our lives, you son of a glitch?"
"I repeat: All other priorities are rescinded."

In the research station, Jazz makes a vain attempt to reason with Thunderwing before he crushes Bumblebee's neck, but Grimlock just hauls off and slugs him. As Thunderwing's Decepticon warriors join the fight, Windsweeper sees how outnumbered the Autobots are and decides to just hang back in the shadows and let the other Decepticons do the work. This strategy works pretty well until the Matrixspawn grabs him from behind with its tail and begins pulling him up to the rafters.

Meanwhile, off the coast of England, a shadowy figure dressed all in purple, and with only one eye, emerges from the waters. Their monologuing is witnesssed by a solitary human, who they decree must be silenced. But WHO could it be...?

On VsQs, the Decepticons notice Windsweeper is missing, and spot the creature about ready to devour him. Needlenose draws a bead on the Matrixspawn to kill it and save his comrade, but Thunderwing shoves him out of the way when he recognizes the Matrix energy dripping from the creature. Afraid of being separated from its vessel, the Matrix bids it to retreat. Thunderwing takes off in hot pursuit, leaving some very chagrined Decepticon troopers wondering just how far gone their leader is.

As the Pretenders regroup, they realize the moon's heavy gravity is beginning to have an effect on them; it seems they had been burning extra energon over the last few hours to compensate, which only means that now they're low on fuel reserves. Chasing after the creature as best they can, the Autobots are caught between Thunderwing and the Matrixspawn as they battle for the right to possess the Matrix. Bumblebee, all-but dry of energy, reaches slowly towards the Matrix as their enemies fight to the death and...

At the Ark, the Classic Pretenders' shuttle is coming in for a smooth landing, and Optimus Prime eagerly goes to meet the conquering heroes and reclaim their prize. The laugh's on him though, as Thunderwing steps forth from the shuttle wielding the power of the Matrix as his own.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Others
Optimus Prime (3) Jazz (5) Bumblebee (6) Grimlock (7) Hosehead (10) Nightbeat (11) Siren (12) Hot Rod (19)	Thunderwing (8) Ruckus (9) Spinister (13) Needlenose (14) Windsweeper (15) Shadowy figure (18)	Patch's owner (17)	Creation Matrix/Dark Matrix (1) Deathbringer (2) Matrixspawn (4) Patch (16)

Quotes

"We are Primus. We are Prima. We are Prime Nova. We are Sentinel Prime. We are Optimus Prime. We are Creation Matrix! We know pleasure, purity--goodness. But we would know... more."

—The Creation Matrix monologues, ominously

"Pah! Fed up with weaklings crying about Unicron! Give me back my Dinobots and we kick butt!"
"Of course! It's so obvious! Why didn't any of us see this before? Except -- without the Matrix, how do you expect to revive the Dinobots? Sheesh!"

—Grimlock and Jazz

"Don't talk -- HIT!'"

—Grimlock explains his nuanced approach to dealing with Thunderwing

"Interesting. I almost felt that."

—A full-force punch from Grimlock fails to impress Thunderwing

"AAAAH! It's got me! It's got me! ...Ah ha. Well... the floor's got me, actually."

—Jazz takes a tumble through a decaying deck

"You reckon we should go after Thunderwing, help out?"
"Nah, it's his fight -- he's made that plenty clear to us already! Anyway, he doesn't care about what happens to us -- why should we worry about him? If Thunderwing beats the creature, the Autobots -- that's fine by me. If he dies -- I'll send flowers!"

—Needlenose and Spinister

"We are Primus. We are Prima. We are Prime Nova. We are Sentinel Prime. We are Optimus Prime. WE ARE THUNDERWING!"

—The Creation Matrix again. Toldja it was ominous!

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

Page 14: Thunderwing's thighs are colored as if they were part of Jazz's torso.

Continuity notes

This is the first fictional mention of Prima, Prime Nova, and Sentinel Prime, although Prima and Sentinel Prime were previously depicted in "Primal Scream" and "The Legacy of Unicron!", respectively, as unnamed characters.
Ruckus got knocked into the Mind Leech by Thunderwing just last issue.
Bumblebee, Jazz, and Grimlock's Pretender Shells make their last appearance in the comics. Bumblebee's shell gets a hole blasted through it by Thunderwing, but Jazz and Grimlock's just disappear forever without explanation after they exit them to fight.
Bumblebee complains about being low on Energon yet back when he was visiting Nebulos (as Goldbug) the Autobots were also low on fuel yet Goldbug was unaffected.
The Deathbringer story the Matrix references occurred in "Deathbringer", making it one of the biggest references to the UK comic ever made by the US comic.

Real-life references

The assorted creatures in this story are obviously inspired in part by the critters from the Alien film series, particularly the "facehugger". Given that, the name of the moon, "VsQs," may be an homage to PFC Vasquez from Aliens and the name of the planet it orbits, "Cameron", is certainly an homage to James Cameron, the director of that film.
Blackpool is a UK seaside resort famous for its tower (which resembles the Eiffel Tower) and pleasure beach.

Bot Roster

Autobots: 27 active; 8 rogue Micromasters; 1 in storage, 31 offline, 25 presumed offline. (95 total)
Decepticons: 23 active; 4 rogue Micromasters; 1 rogue Shockwave returns; 26 offline, 25 presumed offline. 3 offline/missing. (82 total)

UK printing

Issue #290:

Reprint Transformers story: "The Legacy of Unicron!"
Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Bailout" and Combat Colin
AtoZ: Wildrider and Windcharger
With this issue, Combat Colin reverted to color (for a few issues at least)
The AtoZ reached the end of the list alphabetically. Future AtoZs would use characters who had been missed out.

Issue #291:

Reprint Transformers story: "The Legacy of Unicron!"
Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Bailout" and Combat Colin

Issue #292:

Reprint Transformers story: "The Legacy of Unicron!"
Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Bailout" and Combat Colin

Issue #293:

Reprint Transformers story: "The Legacy of Unicron!"
Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Bailout" and Combat Colin

Other trivia

Transformers Universe profiles for Spinister and Windsweeper are found after the main story.

Foreign Localization

Swedish

Title (1990): "Skapad ur mörkret" ("Created from the Darkness")
Title (2019): "Mörk skapelse" ("Dark Creation")

Covers (5)

US issue #65 cover: Grimlock attacked by the alien, by Bill Sienkiewicz.
UK issue #290 cover: Optimus Prime's corpse, by Stewart Johnson.
UK issue #291 cover: Bumblebee about to be attacked by the alien, by Stewart Johnson.
UK issue #292 cover: Windsweeper attacked by the alien, by Stewart Johnson.
UK issue #293 cover: Thunderwing with the Matrix, by Stewart Johnson.

US issue #65 - Zoinks!
UK issue #290 - Brings a new meaning to 'heartburn'
UK issue #291 - Feed me Seymour!
UK issue #292 - Windsweeper gets swept off his feet.
UK issue #293 - Hmm, a floaty green thing. Can't be harmful!

Reprints

Transformers: Matrix Quest TPB: Thunderwing, Rodimus Prime, Shockwave and half of Primus, by Andrew Wildman.
Transformers: Matrix Quest HC: Thunderwing with the Creation Matrix, by Pat Lee.
Best of Transformers: Eye of the Storm: Optimus Prime, Ravage and Skywarp, by Andrew Wildman.
Classic Transformers Volume 5: panels from this issue, "Eye of the Storm", "Deadly Obsession" and "...All This and Civil War 2".
The Transformers Classics, Vol. 6 cover: Blitzwing, by Guido Guidi.
Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection, Volume 17: Matrix Quest: Nightbeat and Prime's corpse by Makoto Ono and Geoff Senior.

Matrix Quest TPB (Titan Books, 2002)
Matrix Quest hardback (Titan Books, 2002)
Best of Transformers: Eye of the Storm (Titan Books, 2008)
Classic Transformers Volume 5 (IDW Publishing, 2009)
The Transformers Classics, Vol. 6 (IDW Publishing, 2013)
Definitive G1 Collection vol. 17: Matrix Quest (Hachette Partworks, Ltd., 2018)